Led by the powerful vocals of frontman Chuck D (Carlton Ridenhour), Public Enemy changed the face of hip hop when their debut album Yo! Bum Rush the Show! appeared in 1987. The Long Island-based group also featured the comic relief of Chuck D's sidekick, Flavor Flav, the controversial musings of Minister of Information Professor Griff and the turntable work of Terminator X. Together, they brought the genre an often-militant, decidedly Afrocentric viewpoint, using revolutionary, edge-of-the-seat production from the Bomb Squad, who cut in chunks of raw noise among the tough beats.

The group's second album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, upped the ante both lyrically and musically and became an instant milestone. But the group splintered and reformed before 1990's Fear of a Black Planet, thanks in part to inflammatory comments by Griff. After 1994's poorly received Muse Sick 'N' Hour Mess Age, the group took a powder while Chuck D recorded a solo album and wrote a book, but reformed for the comeback soundtrack to Spike Lee's "He Got Game" in 1998.

In 1999, Public Enemy broke with longtime label Def Jam and announced plans to make a new album, There's a Poison Goin' On, available via internet download, and signed with Atomic Pop.